A Place for Love
by reddneckin
Summary: The final chapter of The Place series. Hope ya'll like it.


It had been four days since the storm. Andy had convinced Lizzie to go home and get some sleep, "in a real bed"

When they returned to the plantation, she insisted on checking on the horses. The south end barn, she knew had been destroyed, and almost killed her brother. They walked down to the north side of the property. Lizzie was almost afraid to look. There were downed trees everywhere. She breathed a sigh of relief when the barn was still standing, roof intact.

When they approached the door, Andy let out a huge "DAMN. What the hell stinks so bad"

Lizzie bend down and picked up a harness that had blown out outside.

"Rotten hay. Smells like shit doesn't it? These stalls need to be cleaned out too." She looked around and her eyes welled up with tears. How in the world was she going to clean up the mess, and re-build the south end barn with her brother laying in ICU. She did not know if Andy could even swing a hammer.

"Hey" Andy walked up beside her and turned her around to face him, "Everything will be ok. This cant be fixed overnight" Lizzie nodded and wiped her eyes.

"There is just so much to do. How am I suppose to haul off the debris from the old barn and build a new one."

"You wont. " Andy said, "I will"

"YOU!" Lizzie looked at him wide eyed. "You can re build a barn"

"If I can build a boat, I am pretty sure that I can build a barn. Maybe some of the locals can come help"

"An old fashioned barn raisin" Lizzie sat down on a tree stump and looked up at Andy, "You just gave me a great idea. I need to go and call Mille and Rita."

"No, what you need to do is go up to the house, take a bath and go to sleep"

Lizzie knew he was right and took his outstretched hand. The two walked back up to the house and Andy could hear the phone ringing as they reached the back steps.

"I will answer that, you get your ass upstairs. I will be up later"

"Hello, Ellen B's" Andy answered.

"Hey butthole" It was Andy's brother Jonathan.

"Hey man, been meaning to call you, a lot has been going on here."

Andy told Jonathan about the storm and Lizzies brother being in ICU. He also told him about the bundle of joy that was soon to arrive.

"Damn son," His brother laughed, "You have been busy"

The two talked for a minute and Andy told Jonathan he needed to run.

"Wish I was there to help, but with season right around the corner, " Jonathan said.

Andy told his brother he understood and he would keep in touch. The brothers said their goodbyes and Andy hung up the phone.

He reached the top of the stairs and opened the door to the bedroom he now shared with Lizzie. He found her curled up on the bed asleep. Andy sat down on the bed and pulled off his boots and undressed. He looked over at Lizzie and thought about waking her up, but decided not to. She needed to sleep. He went into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. Andy stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. He quickly dried himself, and joined Lizzie in the bed. Andy had grown accustomed to sleeping in the buff, since it was so hot here. Lizzie sensed his presence and turned over, curling up into him. The two slept all afternoon.

Lizzie woke up and stretched. Andy had gotten up. She sat up on the side of the bed, and sniffed. An enourmously delicious aroma was making its way upstairs from the kitchen. She pulled on her old comfy Georgia Bulldogs sweatpants and a tshirt. The sweatpants were already getting snug.

Lizzie walked into the kitchen to find Andy at the stove with one of her hot pink aprons on that bore the words, "I am still a hot babe, it just comes in flashes" Paula Deen had visited the plantation with her family several years ago and brought Lizzie the apron as a gift. Lizzie walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Cute outfit there sailor." She could not help it. She busted out laughing at the sight of him. Black and Red Time Bandit hat, turned backward. A pair of Black Nike shorts, and a t shirt. Over that he wore her apron.

"Hey, I thought you were asleep." He leaned over and kissed her.

"You hungry" Lizzie nodded and tasted the spaghetti sauce he was stirring. It was amazing.

"I didn't know you could cook" She got two plates down from the cabinet and handed him one.

"I can't cook as good as you can, but I do ok I guess" They walked over to the table that sat in the corner of the kitchen. Lizzie did not think it was professional for them to eat in the dining room with the guests. She had found an old farmhouse table with six chairs at an antique store and it was the perfect fit for the kitchen.

Andy poured them two huge glasses of iced tea, and was just about to sit down when his cell phone rang.

"It's the hospital" He looked at Lizzie and then answered it. He touched Lizzie on the shoulder as he started out the back door, Lizzie was right behind him.

"Ok, thanks we will be there shortly" He was starting to pick up on the southern lingo since he had been living here.

"He's awake. Let's sit down and finish eating. The nurse said they are removing the respirator and getting him settled into a room"

Lizzie and Andy finished dinner and just left the plates right there on the table. Andy had called back to the hospital and got Rusty's room number from the front desk, and they went back up to the hospital.

Lizzie cried when she saw him. His face was bruised and his left arm was broken. They had to remove his spleen and he had a punctured lung.

"Ok now. No sense squalling like that. I'm ok. Doc says I have got to quit smokin' don't know if I like that or not" Lizzie was sitting in the bed with him.

"Well, if he says you are quittin, you are quittin."

"How much damage did the storm do?" Lizzie looked at Andy and sighed.

"Besides the barn, there are two or three trees down, but that's it" Andy told him.

"Well, soon as they let me outta here, we can get to work on cleaning up and raisin a new barn"

Lizzie shook her head no. "You wont do any such" She told him.

"Well, you sure as hell aint gonna do it. The last damn thing you need to be doing is pullin on timbers and haulin off tree branches."

"I can drive the truck and the tractor. I am pregnant, not helpless"

Rusty nodded his head toward Lizzie and looked at Andy, "She always has been a hard headed little heifer"

Lizzie glared at her brother, "Yeah, well I get the shit honest"

Andy told Rusty that they were going home. Rusty shook his hand and told him to be sure to look after Lizzie till he could get home.

Andy turned down the road that led to Ellen B's and noticed that there were more trees down than he realized. He looked over at Lizzie, and her head was leaned back against the headrest. She was sound asleep.

Andy pulled the truck up in front of the house and got out. Walking around to the passenger side, he rubbed Lizzies belly, a habit for him now, and kissed her.

"Hey, wake up" She looked at him sleepy eyed and smiled.

The weather was turning cooler, finally. Lizzie was at the back of the house with a piece of twine tied between two oak trees. The storm had taken the pecan tree out, but the old oaks were still there. Rusty was home from the hospital and doing fine. He had gone catfishing that morning, and came back with a bucketful. Lizzie was skinning them, by hanging them off a line attached to the twine. Then she took a pliers and grabbed the fins on both sides. Giving a downward pull, the fish was skinned. Lizzie was tossing the skins into a pile and would later use them in the fertilizer bed.

Andy walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, his hands running over her growing tummy. For months, you could not even tell she was pregnant, but now she had a tiny bump. Andy loved to rub her tummy at night and feel his baby kicking and moving. They had made love last night, and after a hard orgasm, the baby kicked hard.

"Whoa," Andy jumped up and Lizzie started laughing. "That doesn't hurt"

"No," Lizzie said, "Unless he gets under my ribs or kicks me in the bladder"

They learned that the baby was a boy, and Andy was thrilled.

"You need some help" Lizzie turned and kissed him. "No, I am almost done. You can dump that bucket for me though, Its kinda heavy"

Lizzie watched him bend over to pick up the bucket. Damn he had a fine ass. It was so tight and firm you could bounce a silver dollar off it.

He caught her looking at him, and grinned.

"You know, it was that look that got you in the position you are in now"

"Well, I cant help it that you are so damn good looking now can I" She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

After dinner Andy and Lizzie walked down to the boathouse. This had become a favorite spot for them. Andy could have sex with Lizzie and make all the noise he pleased, and not have to be concerned with her brother hearing them. Even though they had gotten married and he and Rusty had become friends, he still felt a little strange making love to her with her brother in the house.

"Ok, we don't have long until this baby's born" Andy looked over at her. Lizzie struggled to sit up.

"Well, the sooner the better for me. I didn't realize what a luxury tying my shoes and painting my toenails was." Andy had been doing that for her, and shaving her legs.

"We need to decide what his name is going to be" Andy sat up and reached for his pants. "What was your dad's name" He pulled his jeans on and reached for his shirt.

"Brady" Lizzie said. "Brady Thomas Logan" Tears welled up in her eyes. It saddened her that her parents would never see him.

Andy knew what she was thinking and knelt in front of her, rubbing her stomach. The baby started to kick and he smiled.

"Well, what do you think of that name" Andy said, talking to Lizzie's belly, "Do you like the name Brady Thomas?"

The baby kicked Lizzie, hard. "Ouch dammit" She yelled. Andy started laughing. "Well, was that a yes or a no"

It was Christmas Eve and the main house was decorated from top to bottom. Andy and Lizzie had planned to fly out to be with his family for Christmas. Lizzie was busy packing up the last of their things when a sharp pain hit. She sat down on the bed to catch her breath. The pain subsided and she walked into the bathroom. Lizzie reached up to get Andy's razor to put it in the carryon bag, when another sharp pain hit. Andy walked into the bathroom just about that time, and Lizzie looked up at him.

"Do you think your family would be upset if we didn't come" She asked him.

"Why." He was starting to get mad. He had been looking forward to this.

"Because, I think I am in labor" Just then another pain hit, and Lizzies water broke. "Correction, I KNOW I am in labor"

Andy drove like a bat out of hell to the hospital. They were in Lizzie's black suburban and Rusty was in back with her.

"Hurry up son, I would rather not have to deliver this baby myself" Seeing his baby sister in so much pain knowing there was nothing he could do was killing him. Now he knew how she felt when he was hurt.

Andy pulled up to the hospital entrance and Rusty helped Lizzie out.

At exactly 10:45 am, Lizzie delivered a healthy boy they named Brady Thomas Logan Hillstrand.

Andy was trying to call his brother to let him know that he was an uncle and that everyone was doing fine. He heard a familiar voice and looked up to see his four brothers, mom and stepdad walking up the sidewalk to the hospital.

Lizzie had been sleeping. She finally got to meet the rest of Andy's family and they had left to go back to the hotel after admiring their new grandson and nephew. Andy was asleep in the reclining chair in the corner of the room, baby Brady on his chest.

A place to love and be loved had finally found her. She was happier than she had ever been in her life.

A


End file.
